78 replies to this topic

[dudeman]

Hey guys, it's been a long time since I've been on these forums, mostly because I was fed up with everything I tried not working. But now I've almost entirely stopped breaking out, and I felt a compulsion to come here and post what it is I've been doing to clear up.

First of all, this is going to seem outlandish at first, so brace yourself. I'm going to list, in order of importance, what lifestyle changes I made:

1. I stopped eating all grain, in any form (except for occasional non-soy miso soup). Within 4 days of cutting grain (especially wheat!) out of my diet, I felt a drastic difference in my well-being. Not to mention my break-outs started to slow down.

2. I eat almost 100% percent raw food, in the form of vegetables and salad fruit (avacado, tomatoes, etc.). THIS DOES NOT MEAN I MUNCH CELERY ALL DAY! There are all kinds of awesome raw food recipesthat you can make using a blender, food processer, or a dehydrator (my favourite). I eat all kinds of gourmet stuff that tastes even better than cooked food. My energy levels have sky rocketed, and so has my overall sense of well-being. After a month of this, I don't crave sweets AT ALL anymore. But the key is that right now (until I totally clear up) I'm not eating any fruit. A low glycemic diet is absolutely crucial. Sugar bad!

3. I got a shower head filter that filters out chlorine, many chemicals, and organic toxins which cost about 40$. The box "guaranteed" softer skin and hair within a week, which I was slightly skeptical about. But within a week my skin felt freakishly soft. I don't know EXACTLY if it's helped with clearing my face, but the softness is enough for me. And my shower water actually tastes good now.

4. I drink about 8-10 glasses of lemon water a day. I sqeeze about a half a lemon into each glass. It's very nicely liver cleansing and it helps alkalise the blood. I did this before I switched to the better diet, and it helped some, but on my kind of diet it's so important because you'll be detox-ing quite a bit, usually. Gotta clear that shiznat out.


Feel free to ask any questions. If you doubt the validity of this, I don't give a sh!t. I'm almost 18 years old and before switched to this diet I was feeling extra lethargic, and my breakouts were starting to get even worse. I've had terrible acne since I was 12 years old and this is the ONLY THING THAT'S EVER MADE ME CLEAR UP. PERIOD. I haven't broken out with more than a few tiny bumps in two weeks, and I've been doing this for only a month. The one time I broke out kinda big during this one month is when I broke down and ate some cooked grains.


If you want more info on the raw food diet specifically, check out http://www.living-foods.com/ or just do a google search on "raw food". There's tons of resources and information available.

If you're like me and have tried so many different treatments (including anti-biotics, retin-a, "the regimen", etc.) but none of them worked well, then you should try this. I can't guarentee that it will work, because all I know is that it worked for me within 1-2 weeks.

Don't hate on it, just try it. I don't want to hear bullsh!t about how acne has no relation to diet.

[HUMMMMMMMElectricHUMMMM]

What exactly are foods that are considered to be 'grains'?

[dudeman]

What exactly are foods that are considered to be 'grains'?

Gluten (wheat, kamut, spelt, etc.) and non-gluten (amaranth, millet, etc.) grains, ESPECIALLY the refined flours which are extremely glycemic. Grains also include rice, which is very glycemic (causes a blood sugar spike and insulin problems). White rice is the worst, followed by brown rice and then wild rice.

When grains are cooked, the heat converts the starches in the grain into simpler sugars, which break down into glucose in the body much, much faster. This causes all kinds of problems, including insulin issues and hormonal disruption, which is one of the main causes of acne (and deppression, for that matter).

I edited #2 on my list, by the way.

[Polka]

sounds interesting, expept for asians like me I have th eat rice everyday.

Sounds cool though

[cynic]

I thought fruit was OK to eat?

I've been *loads* of apples and oranges as a substitute for eating crap like chocolate, crisps, sweets etc - so, you're telling me I can't eat fruit any more either?

[Green_Vegetable_Man]

Thanks for sharing dudeman. I have also modified my diet and am feeling so much better.

[SteveLewis]

I thought fruit was OK to eat?

I've been *loads* of apples and oranges as a substitute for eating crap like chocolate, crisps, sweets etc - so, you're telling me I can't eat fruit any more either? 

Fruit is fine although I stopped eating oranges a while back. I still eat Apples, Papayas, Kiwi Fruit, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries and I haven't broken out in a while. The no grain diet is a staple to most acne diets as is an increased intake of alkalizing foods coupled with a lowered intake of high GI foods.

[dudeman]

I thought fruit was OK to eat?

I've been *loads* of apples and oranges as a substitute for eating crap like chocolate, crisps, sweets etc - so, you're telling me I can't eat fruit any more either? 

Low glycemic fruit is ok (ESPECIALLY young/thai coconuts...but only the pulp). Lemons, limes, thai coconut pulp, and grapefruit (except for the pink kind, I think...) are low glycemic fruits. I love thai coconut pulp, and it's filled with anti-acne ingredients like caprylic acid and lauric acid.

Basically, you want to avoid the moderate/high glycemic fruits until you clear up and have re-alkalized your blood (something you guys should research: "blood pH"). Then you can experiment and see what makes you break out for sure. Even then, you want to stay away from high glycemic fruit because it promotes yeast and fungus overgrowth in your body (sugar feeds yeasts and such).

Most commercial fruits these days have been cross bred and hybridized so much that they have many, many times the amount of sugar than the original wild fruits had. Which basically means they're unnatural. Supposedly some of the sweeter varieties of apples have up to 50 times the sugar that the original wild varieties had. Yeast and fungus love that stuff, and it's not what our bodies evolved to eat.


Peace be with you all, I'm off to bed. I'll answer any questions in the morning.

[blackbirdbeatle]

There's a difference between glycemic index and loads. Increased protein and fiber also reduces this as will things like chromium. Eat a watermelon, or a carrot. Both have extremely high GI(many carrots as high as pure glucose) but do they increase the blood sugar right away? Nope. I suggest that if you want to go the GI route don't look into somethign like the raw food diet and take a cue from diabetics. Their bodies are way more sensitive to levels of blood sugar than those with acne.

[Wally]

Congrats dudeman!

[arlallway]

Hey guys, it's been a long time since I've been on these forums, mostly because I was fed up with everything I tried not working. But now I've almost entirely stopped breaking out, and I felt a compulsion to come here and post what it is I've been doing to clear up.

First of all, this is going to seem outlandish at first, so brace yourself. I'm going to list, in order of importance, what lifestyle changes I made:

1. I stopped eating all grain, in any form (except for occasional non-soy miso soup). Within 4 days of cutting grain (especially wheat!) out of my diet, I felt a drastic difference in my well-being. Not to mention my break-outs started to slow down.

2. I eat almost 100% percent raw food, in the form of vegetables and salad fruit (avacado, tomatoes, etc.). THIS DOES NOT MEAN I MUNCH CELERY ALL DAY! There are all kinds of awesome raw food recipesthat you can make using a blender, food processer, or a dehydrator (my favourite). I eat all kinds of gourmet stuff that tastes even better than cooked food. My energy levels have sky rocketed, and so has my overall sense of well-being. After a month of this, I don't crave sweets AT ALL anymore. But the key is that right now (until I totally clear up) I'm not eating any fruit. A low glycemic diet is absolutely crucial. Sugar bad!

3. I got a shower head filter that filters out chlorine, many chemicals, and organic toxins which cost about 40$. The box "guaranteed" softer skin and hair within a week, which I was slightly skeptical about. But within a week my skin felt freakishly soft. I don't know EXACTLY if it's helped with clearing my face, but the softness is enough for me. And my shower water actually tastes good now.

4. I drink about 8-10 glasses of lemon water a day. I sqeeze about a half a lemon into each glass. It's very nicely liver cleansing and it helps alkalise the blood. I did this before I switched to the better diet, and it helped some, but on my kind of diet it's so important because you'll be detox-ing quite a bit, usually. Gotta clear that shiznat out.
Feel free to ask any questions. If you doubt the validity of this, I don't give a sh!t. I'm almost 18 years old and before switched to this diet I was feeling extra lethargic, and my breakouts were starting to get even worse. I've had terrible acne since I was 12 years old and this is the ONLY THING THAT'S EVER MADE ME CLEAR UP. PERIOD. I haven't broken out with more than a few tiny bumps in two weeks, and I've been doing this for only a month. The one time I broke out kinda big during this one month is when I broke down and ate some cooked grains.
If you want more info on the raw food diet specifically, check out http://www.living-foods.com/ or just do a google search on "raw food". There's tons of resources and information available.

If you're like me and have tried so many different treatments (including anti-biotics, retin-a, "the regimen", etc.) but none of them worked well, then you should try this. I can't guarentee that it will work, because all I know is that it worked for me within 1-2 weeks.

Don't hate on it, just try it. I don't want to hear bullsh!t about how acne has no relation to diet.

Could you give us a link to the shower head you are using or at least the brand and model? Thanks!

[Verve89]

o.O do you eat chicken,beef,fish,turkey?

[Infatuation]

Congrats. What i am wondering is where you bought the shower head filter and how much it is. Thanks!

[dudeman]

o.O do you eat chicken,beef,fish,turkey?

Nope. I've been vegetarian since I was 12, and since 1 month ago I'm vegan. So no animal products at all. I get protein from raw nuts (soaked/sprouted) and seeds (hemp seeds are awesome...they taste great and they're 33% protein and have all essential amino acids, along with a perfect ratio of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids). I weight train and I've been putting on muscle, so I know I'm getting enough protein. The idea that we need to get protein from animal sources is a total myth.


Infatuation: I got the standard New Wave Enviro Products shower filter from Wild Oats (which is a natural food store chain, here in Oregon anyway) for 40$. I also ordered an Aquasana shower filter for the second shower. Both seem to work great, although the Aquasana one might be a tad better (but it's about 60$).

[Megatron]

Nope. I've been vegetarian since I was 12, and since 1 month ago I'm vegan. So no animal products at all. I get protein from raw nuts (soaked/sprouted) and seeds (hemp seeds are awesome...they taste great and they're 33% protein and have all essential amino acids, along with a perfect ratio of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids). I weight train and I've been putting on muscle, so I know I'm getting enough protein. The idea that we need to get protein from animal sources is a total myth.
Infatuation: I got the standard New Wave Enviro Products shower filter from Wild Oats (which is a natural food store chain, here in Oregon anyway) for 40$. I also ordered an Aquasana shower filter for the second shower. Both seem to work great, although the Aquasana one might be a tad better (but it's about 60$).

hmm... what kind of nuts are these? almonds ? peanuts ? im unfamiliar with the terms 'soaked/sprouted'

And, do you wash your face with anything ?

[Megatron]

double post, apologies.

[kel]

im vegan to skin has been better sine actually.

[MB1983]

What exactly is grain? All breads, biscuits etc..?

I just dont know what to eat, I read loads of foods to avoid and I just get confused and end up eating the usual rubbish.

Whats foods are good to eat, like on the go? Especially for breakfast?

What about milk?

[BenKweller]

Veganism is silly.

[agentcooper]

i wouldn't go so far as to call it silly...as long as you are careful to get all of the nutrients you need, it is actually quite an admiral lifestyle change.

but vegans who look down on people who aren't vegan, are rotten people.